Whichever plan the school board adopts to improve facilities in the Simpson County School District, the board and their consultants believe a school bond is a must--no ifs, ands or buts about it.
Options for improvement range in cost from $28 million to $62 million. After months of discussion, the board has decided on a plan which falls in the middle at approximately $32 million.
The board discussed building a new consolidated high school at a central location in the county, which would be on the upper end of costs.
Recently they also discussed the possibility of purchasing the former Pioneer property in the Magee Industrial Park and renovating it to work as a consolidated high school. That discussion ended with the majority of the board stating they did not believe the county would support the plan at a cost of about $23 million.
Though initially this would have been one of the least costly options, more funds would still be needed to get the remaining district facilities up to par, and the Pioneer acquisition also did not include athletic facilities. Board members said that athletics could be addressed through existing facilities.
Member Stan Bulger estimated the acquisition cost for the Pioneer property at $2.5 million for the larger building, $1.4 million for the smaller and $8 to $9 million in renovation cost. But he contended that most of the county voters would not support a consolidated high school at the south end of Magee so the option would have to be more centrally located, like the Co-Lin campus in Simpson County. To start over new would be in excess of $30 million according to previous studies.
The facilities use plan prepared by Bailey Consulting presented five major options with some slight variations.
1. Fix all existing campuses and keep them where they are. Estimated cost is $29.4 million.
1.1 Close Mendenhall Jr. High and use Mendenhall Elementary to house first through eighth grades; Mendenhall High School would take up ninth through twelfth grades. From this point Mendenhall Junior High is described as requiring closure since it is in much the same shape as the old Magee Elementary, which was closed. The estimated cost is $28 million.
2. Build a new consolidated high school at a cost of almost $62 million.
3. Keep all campuses open except Mendenhall Junior High and renovate all other campuses at a cost of $53 million.
4. Provide renovations and auxiliary gymnasiums in Magee and Mendenhall at a cost of almost $40 million.
4.1 Add no auxiliary gymnasiums.
5. Acquire the Pioneer building in the Magee Industrial Park for $28 to $29 million, which would have included additional buildings and improvements.
The board considered moving forward with option 4.1 at a cost of $39,783,394.
Arguing against the consultants’ report, board member Lillie Hardy said she did not feel that abandoning the Mendenhall Junior High campus was the best thing to do. She stated that only a few of the buildings flood in heavy rain, which was one reason for considering closing that campus. She also questioned the efficiency of changing the middle school grade structure and how that would impact teaching.
Board member Danny Cowart posed the question of whether the study was worth the cost, which was around $20,000. He noted that the county’s student population is dropping, as is the tax base, and added that it takes more money to improve education.
Hardy later stated that the improvement of facilities is not the issue at hand but rather that of improving academics.
Board member Stacey Herring objected to a consolidated high school but suggested that perhaps Magee could get the Pioneer buildings for use.
It was the consensus of board members that voters would not agree to such a plan.
Member Patrice Boykin stated that whatever was done about consolidation, something had to be done at Mendenhall Junior High.
The board’s final decison on the plan they will promote will be presented publically at meetings which have not yet been announced.
